


I've got time, I've got love

by emilia_kaisa



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Dorks in Love, Flirting, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Matteo The Matchmaker, Not Beta Read, POV Alternating, Romance, Silly, i like to think that it's cute, minimal angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 21:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20032702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilia_kaisa/pseuds/emilia_kaisa
Summary: "I have plans already.""Oh really?" Matteo raised his eyebrows "Socialising?""Yuzuru invited me for dinner, I helped him out a little bit this morning.""Yu- ahh, you mean that neighbor of yours?" Matteo snapped his fingers "The one you won't admit he's cute?""Well he indeed is cute, and what about that?" Javi asked and Matteo made a face at him before going back to his sandwich.aka Yuzu is smitten and Javi is dumb; also, they are neighbors





	I've got time, I've got love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ofreverentia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofreverentia/gifts).

> Praise my dear friend for giving me this plot, this is for you dear :*  
This turned out kinda silly and rom- com style, but I actually like it? Title stolen from 'Hold my girl' by George Ezra. I apologize for any mistakes that escaped my attention, but that hour is harsh hah   
I hope you enjoy!

Javi was woken up rather brutally, by his cut rubbing against his cheek and purring aggressively. He groaned loudly, turning on his side in an attempt to escape that sign of affection, but Effie only jumped over him and started nuzzling against his face again.

“Oh my goood.” Javi groaned, opening his eyes and reaching to pat her head “You’re lucky I love you, you know.” he complained, but Effie only purred happily when she saw him awake and ran to the kitchen, not even waiting for him to get up properly. Javi rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of sleepiness, and then he glanced at his phone to discover that he had only ten more minutes till his alarm would go off, so it wasn’t a tragedy. 

Now that he was awake he needed coffee as soon as possible, so he followed Effie to the kitchen when he gave her food and then set up a coffee machine. He wasn’t feeling too hungry yet, so he made himself two toasts and munched on them as he scrolled through his phone, narrowing his eyes at the bright screen. 

“Look at that, Effie, Kevin is throwing his birthday party in a club, do I wanna go there?” he asked, but Effie ignored him, busy with cleaning her fur “Uhh, whatever, you ungrateful creature.” Javi sighed, moving to pour himself a cup of coffee, enjoying the familiar taste on his tongue. Yes, now he was ready to face the day-

He almost jumped when he heard some loud noise coming from the stairwell, a sound of something falling and rolling, and loud yelp. Alarmed, he walked to the door quickly, wanting to check the source. What he saw was a familiar silhouette crouching in the middle of the stairwell, surrounded by a bunch of groceries and a broken, useless bag.

“Hey Yuzu, need a hand?” Javi asked, stepping outside his apartment, and his neighbour flinched, looking at him rapidly.

“Hi, Javi.” he smiled, clearly a bit embarrassed “Did I wake you up?”

“Nah, Effie took care of that.” Javi chuckled, crouching next to Yuzuru and starting to collect items the closest to him “I see you did some intense morning shopping?” 

“Mhh.” Yuzuru hummed, his cheeks a little bit pink, and Javi smiled at him fondly. Him and Yuzuru were neighbours for a little bit over two years now, and they had pretty good relations. They weren’t besties or anything, but they hung out from time to time and helped out each other. When Javi was going for a weekend trip or to visit his parents for a few days Yuzuru would take care of Effie, and Javi was watering Yuzuru’s plants if he was leaving for a bit longer. 

Also, Yuzuru was pretty cute, but that was only an additional fact. Funny and pretty sweet, and he wasn’t throwing loud parties, so Javi was very okay with him.

“Thank you.” Yuzuru smiled when they both stood up, balancing with their arms filled with groceries “I forgot my trusted bag and it had to end that way.”

“Never trust paper bags.” Javi chuckled as he followed Yuzuru inside his apartment “Where should I put it?”

“Just drop it here.” Yuzuru said, throwing everything he had on the counter, so Javi did the same “Thanks.”

“Yeah, not a problem.” Javi smiled “That reminds me I have to buy something for dinner too, I have literally two eggs and ketchup. And an onion.”

“Hmm.” Yuzuru hummed, tilting his head a little “You’re working today?” 

“Yeah, till six.”

“So… maybe you’d like to come for dinner? I have a lot of food, as you see, and I want to try out a new recipe, so I need a guinea pig for that.”

“Well I’d never say no to a dinner I don’t have to cook.” Javi chuckled. It wasn’t a first time Yuzuru invited him over for some food; Javi wasn’t terrible with feeding himself, but his working hours and some laziness weren’t really allowing him to spend a lot of time in a kitchen. Yuzuru, on the other hand, was an enthusiast cook, and since he was working at home a lot, he had plenty of time. And he was just nice guy like that, inviting Javi from time to time so they could hang out a bit and talk, and get a bit of a social life without leaving the building. 

“Okay, so I will bring something to drink. What we’re eating?”

“You don’t have to bring anything, it’s a thank you for help.”

“Oh come on, I just picked up a few things.” Javi insisted and Yuzuru made a face at him. 

“Fish.” was all he said and Javi grinned at him.

“So white wine. Perfect. And now excuse me, I’m going back to my coffee. See you later, Yuzu!”

“Yeah.” Yuzuru smiled at him brightly “See you later.”

Javi got back to his apartment and to his coffee, still smiling to himself. The day already seemed better, now that he knew that he wouldn’t be spending another evening by himself in front of a tv. It was always nice to spend some time with Yuzuru and Javi thought absently that maybe they should do that more often, maybe hang out somewhere outside the building, go to grab a beer or something. He was cool, maybe they could meet each other a bit better-

His train of thought was broken by a text from Matteo who was announcing that he would be at Javi's place in ten minutes to pick him up, and Javi almost choked on his coffee as he ran to the bathroom to make himself a little bit less of a mess. 

"You look suspiciously awake." Matteo said when Javi got inside his car, smiling apologetically for a short delay. 

"Had a nice morning." Javi grinned and Matteo gave him a pointed look. 

"And night?" 

"Ahh, how dare you speak these words with your innocent mouth!" Javi yelped dramatically and Matteo rolled his eyes, starting the engine. 

"I'm not thirteen anymore, you know." 

"For me you are! Now drive me to work, boy." 

"Mhhh, what would you do without me?"

"Be lonely and unemployed." 

"Huh, sounds about right."

Javi spent the next few hours on helping the customers to pick the best cameras and tvs, and also fixing one very old Nokia mobile phone. 

"Coffee is not lunch, you know." Matteo said when they met in a small office, looking up from his sandwich "Your mother would kill me, and yours too."

"I have this, look!" Javi waved with a granola bar and Matteo rolled his eyes dramatically. 

"Splendid. Speaking of food, I just remembered, mom and dad would love to see you on dinner some time soon." 

"Yeah, I'd love to." Javi nodded "Just not today, I have plans already." 

"Oh really?" Matteo raised his eyebrows "Socialising?" 

"Yuzuru invited me for dinner, I helped him out a little bit this morning."

"Yu- Ahh, you mean that neighbor of yours?" Matteo snapped his fingers "The one you won't admit he's cute." 

"Well he indeed is, and what about that?" Javi asked and Matteo made a face at him before going back to his sandwich. 

Javi rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee. He made a mental note about a dinner with Matteo's parents and then his mind lingered on Yuzuru. He knew what Matteo had been suggesting, but Javi knew better. Sure, Yuzuru was nice and all that stuff, but Javi was totally fine with them being just… close neighbors. Beside that, Javi wasn't really that much into guys, and on top of that, Yuzuru clearly wasn't into guys. So there was nothing to talk about. 

Javi shook his head and glanced at a clock hanging on the wall, wincing when he realized his break was almost over. It was time to go back and sell some stuff. 

"Hi!" Yuzuru exclaimed happily, opening the door a few seconds after Javi knocked "Right on time!" 

"I was trying real hard." Javi chuckled, stepping inside "Here." he said, handing Yuzuru a bottle of wine "Ohh, something smells nice!"

"It's lobster risotto." Yuzuru said and Javi gaped, slightly horrified. 

"You told me it was going to be a fish, I wasn't prepared for something that fancy."

"It's not that fancy." Yuzuru shrugged "And I really want to try this recipe out, I want to cook this for my parents' anniversary." 

"Ahh, that's nice!" Javi exclaimed and Yuzuru smiled, leading him to the table, and Javi looked around. 

"I see everyone's doing good." he said, gesturing at flower pots standing close to the window, and Yuzuru smiled widely. 

"They like it in here. Just like I do." he said and Javi grinned back. 

"How was work today?" Yuzuru asked a moment later, when they both started eating, and Javi shrugged. 

"Nothing special. Electronics store isn't the most adventurous place on Earth." Javi laughed shortly "Also, this is so good, you should think about changing careers."

"I can't imagine cooking somewhere beside my kitchen, too much stress. I'll stick to translation." Yuzuru smiled, taking a sip of wine "Oh, it's good!" 

"Thanks, Matteo helped me with choosing." Javi said and Yuzuru tilted his head a little, sparks of interest dancing in his eyes, and Javi felt a need to elaborate "He's my friend, our parents know each other since forever. I actually moved in with them for a year, when my parents moved out because of dad's job, but I didn't want to change school a year before graduating. Now we work together, we're basically brothers."

"That's nice." Yuzuru smiled in a way Javi couldn’t decipher, but decided not to read into it. 

"What about you? Finished something big and decided to celebrate with lobster?" 

"Yes, actually, just finished translating a really cool book with fairy tales, and I'm pretty happy with how everything turned out." 

"That's so awesome." Javi smiled widely before focusing on his food, which was honestly great. He was so lucky to have such a cool neighbor, who was inviting him for tasty food and was so nice overall. 

His train of thought was broken when something warm touched his calf. His first instinct was to reach down and pet Effie, but then he remembered that it wasn't his apartment and his cat wasn't there. He scrunched his nose for a second and then realized that it was Yuzuru's leg, and he relaxed. The table was pretty little so it wasn't intentional, and Javi didn't mind. When he looked up he caught Yuzuru looking at him, something like question in his eyes, and Javi grinned widely. 

"So, you're planning to visit your family soon?" he asked easily and Yuzuru blinked, as if he wasn't expecting that question. He looked like he was about to sigh, but in the end he only smiled. 

"Next month. We're having this big party for my parents, all the family, you know."

"Yeah." Javi chuckled, thinking about his own family gatherings "Hmm, maybe I should visit mine too, I finally need to meet my sister's new boyfriend and give him a talk-" 

Yuzuru laughed at that, and they started a loose, light conversation about their families and life in general. It was nice and easy, and Javi was feeling great until he glanced at the clock and gasped. 

"Huh?" Yuzuru frowned, following his gaze and gaping as well "Oh, wow."

"Yeah." Javi chuckled, standing up slowly "I should go, I need to wake up pretty early tomorrow… Thank you so much Yuzu, it was so nice to catch up! And for the food, it was spectacular." 

"The pleasure was mine." Yuzuru said, following him to the door "I-" he hesitated for a second "Thank you for being my guinea pig." 

"Anytime." Javi smiled broadly "Oh, one more thing!" 

"Yeah?" Yuzuru asked, his smile brightening up. 

"If you need me to water your plants when you're gone just let me know." 

Once again Yuzuru's expression changed for the shortest of moments, but then he nodded, smiling as usual. 

"Sure. Goodnight, Javi." 

"Night, Yuzu!" 

* * *

Yuzuru closed the door behind Javi and had fight an urge to smash his head against the nearest surface. Honestly, how someone so nice and kind and smart could be so dumb at the same time?

Yuzuru was trying to show Javi that he liked him for almost two years now, basically since his move into the building. He remembered it so well, an awfully rainy day and a kind stranger who had helped him with carrying all the boxes and then inviting him for tea and toasts, his first meal in a new place. Yuzuru was smitten even since, and he was really, really trying to get Javi to like him back. 

He had been trying a lot of things. Smiling, always engaging in conversations, taking care of his cat, borrowing sugar, hell, he was inviting him for dinners! He had just make him a freaking lobster, and he spent half of the evening poking his with his leg! He had literally gone through every step every dating website was proposing and it still wasn’t working. How could Javi be so blind?

There was also another option, of course. Maybe Javi just wasn’t interested, but was too much of a gentleman to tell Yuzuru to stop with with all the flirting. Yuzuru sighed, going back to the table and collecting all the dishes. The dinner had been so lovely, but now Yuzuru was feeling kind of… nostalgic? He had spent so much time trying to get Javi to like him, but it was becoming clear that it wasn’t going to happen. Yuzuru knew he could just ask Javi straight away, but he was afraid that it would make things awkward. In the end, he didn’t want to mess up that good relationship him and Javi had. 

“Okay.” he told himself firmly, putting plates and glasses into a dishwasher “Okay, Yuzu, you have one more shot. Just one, and then you’re moving the fuck on.”

The next- possibly the last- chance happened two days later, and it wasn’t even planned. Yuzuru discovered that he was out of a washing powder, and it was pretty late for a run to a store. He hummed to himself, looking around and considering his options, and then he decided to just go to Javi. He smiled to himself, thinking about how nice it would be, to have his clothes smell like Javi’s. 

Also, it was a good possibility to make one more attempt and make a move on Javi. Yuzuru knocked to his door, shifting his weight from one leg to another, feeling weirdly excited. 

“Hi.” Javi smiled widely, with a bit of confusion “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, sorry for the late hour.” Yuzuru chuckled, feeling himself blushing a little “I’m, huh, could I borrow some washing powder? I need to go to the editorial office tomorrow and I don’t have anything decent to wear.” 

“Ah, sure, come in!” Javi exclaimed, stepping aside and letting Yuzuru in “Come, come.”

Yuzuru looked around the vaguely familiar place, and smiled widely when he saw Effie running into his direction. 

“Hi, beautiful.” he cooed, crouching to pet her while Javi walked over to a cabinet, moving some stuff inside “You missed me, huh? We need to make Javi go for some trip so we can hang out a bit again, don’t you think?”

“You’re always welcome to visit, you know.” Javi chuckled, going back to him and handing him a small plastic bag with a powder inside “Here you go.”

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” Yuzuru smiled, and then his eyes caught a sight of a sports bag lying under a chair, and he was struck with an amazing idea that only a total dumbo wouldn’t get “You’re going to a gym?” he asked, pointing the bag, and Javi shrugged.

“From time to time. Gotta keep myself in some kind of a shape.” he said and Yuzuru couldn’t help himself, and he let his eyes wander to Javi’s chest, covered only with a thin fabric of a washed out t- shirt, and his lips went a little bit dry, so he had to clear his throat before speaking again.

“I wanted to go for some time, but I’m afraid I would be totally lost, I think I would need some guide.” he said, giving up being subtle and looking Javi straight in the eyes. Javi smiled, bright and wide, and Yuzuru’s heart skipped a beat, because- 

“I can give you the address of the gym I’m going to, the staff there is so helpful-”

Yuzuru fought an urge to facepalm or yell, and he somehow managed to keep smiling all time through Javi’s friendly rambling, and he only let himself let go when he was back in the safe space of his apartment. 

“Well fuck this.” he murmured angrily, making his way to the washing machine “You spent fucking months on trying get that guy interested in you, he’s probably straight anyway, well fuck that.”

He set the machine and looked at it angrily for a moment before realizing that now his all clothes would smell like Javi’s, which suddenly wasn’t an appealing thought, because how was he supposed to move on while wearing those?

Also, move on from someone he had been never dating. Ridiculous. 

Yuzuru left a meeting with his editor in a pretty good mood. The book was fully accepted and the graphic design looked promising, so Yuzuru was satisfied. Also that meant a serious influx of money to his account, so maybe he could get out and do something fun for once. He wasn’t very social, but somehow he felt like he needed to get out from the cave of his apartment. 

He was about to leave the office, when he heard a familiar voice coming from one of the desks.

“Yuzu, hi!”

Yuzuru stopped abruptly, turning to the person speaking, and he saw Shoma smiling at him from behind his computer. 

“Hi!” Yuzuru smiled back, stepping a bit closer “What’s up, bored at work?”

“Never.” Shoma said, but the slight twitch of his mouth was telling an entirely different story. 

Yuzuru liked Shoma. He was nice, a bit quiet but pretty sweet; actually, he had asked Yuzuru out a few times, a bit shyly, but it never really happened, since Shoma wasn’t really his type. 

Now, he wasn’t sure if having a type was paying off.

“I’ve heard your newest project is all good to go, good for you.” Shoma smiled warmly and Yuzuru knew what was going to happen pretty well “You have some plans to celebrate?”

“I don’t know.” Yuzuru shrugged, his stomach churning, and Shoma’s eyes sparkled.

“Maybe, uhh, you’d like to go somewhere? Like, a celebratory drink?”

Yuzuru hesitated for a moment, but then said fuck it. Shoma was nice and Yuzuru deserved to go out with someone nice. 

“Yeah, why not.” he said, smiling, and Shoma’s eyes widened in surprise “I’d love to.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s, uh, that’s great! I will text you, okay?”

“Sure.” Yuzuru smiled “Looking forward!”

* * *

Javi put on his shoes, humming quietly as he grabbed the keys and a trashbag, leaving the apartment quickly. He had been on a small cleaning spree earlier that day- pretty unusual, but he used that mood to do most of the stuff done. Now he only had to throw away the trash and he could enjoy a nice evening. 

Drowned in the dreams about reheated paella and a beer, he bumped into a guy walking inside the building, almost knocking him down. 

“Shit, sorry! You okay?” he asked, looking at the guy intently to make sure he cause no harm. 

“I’m okay, no worry.” stranger said, sending him a small smile before going upstairs. Javi spent the next half a minute on telling himself that he had to be more careful and then forgot about it, until when he was climbing the stairs and suddenly he heard two voices.

He stopped abruptly, confused, and a second later he saw Yuzuru and that guy walking down the stairs, engaged in a vivid conversation and looking very comfortable overall. 

Something panged inside of Javi’s chest, weirdly and sharply, and Javi blinked, confused. A second later Yuzuru noticed him and he stopped, a flash of something weird and fleeting in his expression, but then he smiled easily. 

“Hi Javi! Going back from work at that hour?”

“I was just, uhhh, throwing stuff away.” Javi mumbled, and suddenly he had troubles with moving his tongue properly, and he had no idea why, and he was just making an idiot of himself in front of Yuzuru and his… friend. It was his friend, right?”

“Okay.” Yuzuru smiled, resuming his walk downstairs “Well have a nice evening, see you!”

Javi felt like the way to his apartment took twice as long as usual, and when he got inside he just stood there, continuing to feel weird. 

“Hmm.” he hummed, looking around “Uhh…”

Javi had no idea what was going on, but he was feeling like something was itching, and his insides were churning. 

Maybe he was just hungry? Or needed something to drink?

He made his wait to the fridge and took out a beer, but a few sips didn’t make a difference, they intensified the feeling of weirdness, if anything.

“Okay, what the fuck.” Javi muttered to himself, dropping on the sofa and staring at the black screen of the tv “What the fuck is going on?”

The last time he had been feeling like that, he was nineteen and-

Javi gasped, almost dropping his drink on his freshly washed sofa, and his mind was circling about the fact that Yuzuru was going out, and he was going out with someone that wasn’t Javi, and it was a big fucking problem. 

Javi groaned, putting the bottle away and hiding his face in his hands, trying to wrap his mind about what was happening. Was it possible that he had a thing for Yuzuru? Well, he was ready to admit that Yuzuru was pretty great and good- looking, but that was it, right? It wasn’t like Javi had a feelings for him or anything, right? Right??? He just suddenly couldn’t stop obsessing over a fact that Yuzuru was apparently on a date right now and, and, and-

“Oh fuck me.”

“Woah, easy.” Matteo exclaimed when Javi jumped into the car and closed the door with way too much strength than needed “Someone had a bad night or what.”

“Mhhh.” Javi grumbled, looking down at his hands “Sorry, we can go.”

He could feel his friends staring at him, but Javi wasn’t really in a mood for talking, so he refused to look up. He knew he was acting like a kid, but he had been indeed sleeping bad, and when he woke up he was pretty baffled by the fact that his new, confusing feelings didn’t disappear. 

Matteo sighed deeply and started the engine, but after a few minutes of silence he spoke again. 

“So?” he asked gently “You know that I don’t buy your  _ I don’t want to talk about it  _ facade, right?”

Javi felt tempted to say that it wasn’t a facade, but in the end, Matteo knew him well enough to call his bullshit out.

“I think I have feelings for Yuzu.” 

Matteo let out a loud screech before driving to the roadside and hitting the breaks. 

“Well finally!” he exclaimed and Javi blinked, and then scrunched his nose in surprise. 

“What?”

“Dude, you had a thing for him for like, last half a year, I was waiting for you to notice-”

“Uhh.” Javi muttered eloquently “But I didn’t-”

“Oh please.” Matteo snorted “How many guys you ever described as cute, and nice, and all those nice words?”

Javi stared at him, and then groaned, rubbing his face. 

“You might be right.”

“I am right.”

“Well fuck.”

“No, no!” Matteo exclaimed, with so much enthusiasm that Javi just had to look at him “This is perfect!”

“... how?”

“Oh come on, Javi, this guy is so smitten with you-”

“What?!”

“I can’t believe it.” Matteo groaned “Javi, he’d been inviting you for romantic homemade dinners for ages! He gave you two tickets to movies for your birthday, probably hoping you would invite him! You don’t need a sixth sense to figure it out!”

Javi kept on staring at him, and everything started to clicking into the right place and-

“Oh my god, I’m so dumb.” he whined, facepalming “I can’t believe… oh my god…”

“Hey, it’s all good now, right? You can just ask him out and-”

“I can’t.” Javi said grumpily “I’m pretty sure he’s dating someone now.”

“Oh.” Matteo frowned “Oh, really?”

“Yeah.” Javi sighed “He probably got tired of me being a blind idiot.”

They were both silent for a moment before Matteo cleared his throat and clasped Javi’s shoulder. 

“Don’t worry.” he said, smiling kindly before sitting properly and starting the engine “And now we have to go or Franka will have our heads.”

Javi laughed at that, a bit humorlessly, still marveling at his stupidity. 

“Kevin’s birthday is on Saturday, you remember?” Matteo asked, clearly determined to lift Javi’s mood somehow “We will go and have fun, all the good stuff?”

“Mhhh.” Javi nodded; he wasn’t really convinced, but there was nothing he could do. He wasn’t going to make a move now, that he knew Yuzuru was seeing someone. He was an idiot, but not an asshole. 

Well, maybe a party would help him brighten up indeed, drink his stupidity away and move on as painlessly as possible. 

Javi glanced into a mirror and tilted his head, looking at himself with some amount of judgement. He was wearing one of his nicest shirts, good for the occasion, but he was wondering if he should get rid of his glasses. They weren’t exactly a club look, but his eyes were feeling a little bit sore and he didn’t really want to fumble with contact lenses. And well, it wasn’t like he was planning to charm someone, right? 

His phone dinged, alarming him that his ride was downstairs and saving him from the dilemma. 

“Have fun without me, princess, just don’t get into trouble.” he said, petting Effie’s fur, and she purred quietly, but beside that, zero reaction. 

He was locking his door, thinking about how he wasn’t in a mood, when he heard the door to Yuzuru’s apartment opening and his heart made a salto in his chest. Okay, just don’t panic-

“Javi, hi!”

“Hey there.” Javi said, turning around, and dying inside a little, because Yuzuru looked  _ good. _

He was wearing a really nice outfit, with black tight jeans and light blue shirt, and a fitting jacket. His hair was styled in a really flattering way, so his face and nice were nicely visible, and Javi swallowed hard.

“Going out?” he asked and Yuzuru gave him a crooked smile, different from those he had used to give, and Javi felt kinda terrible. 

“Yeah, me and Shoma want to, uh, have some Saturday fun.” he said, blushing a little, and Javi realized that he was making him feel awkward, and he punched himself mentally.

“You’re going out too?” Yuzuru asked and Javi nodded eagerly. 

“It’s my friend’s birthday today, so, yeah-”

“Nice.” Yuzuru nodded “So… have fun.”

“You too, Yuzu.” Javi said, and then, before he could think “You look nice.” 

Yuzuru’s eyes widened and Javi felt himself blushing furiously. Well, great job.

“Okay, see you later, bye!” he exclaimed, running down the stairs and suddenly feeling like a party wasn’t such a tragic idea. 

In the end, it was a tragic idea. 

Javi was having fun, on some level, drinking a bit, dancing even less, but overall having a nice time with his friends. Matteo was there, distracting him whenever he saw any sign of sadness, and after some time Javi’s mood really went up, so much that he even let Gabby convince him to go dancing. 

"There you go, you grumpy face!" she yelled through the loud music "Yeah, show me those moves!" 

She was so enthusiastic Javi just had to smile, and after a moment of swaying to the rhythm he started putting more feel into it, to Gabby's- and everyone's- utter delight. Yeah, maybe he was an idiot, but he still could have fun, right? 

He was getting into it, laughing and feeling a bit ridiculous, but then he looked over Gabby's shoulder and he felt as if someone punched him in a stomach. A few meters away, right in front of him, was Yuzuru, dancing with his eyes closed, Shoma right next to him. 

Javi had never seen him like that, outside the safe space of their apartment, loose and a little bit wild, and that sight stole his breath away. 

Fuck, he was such an idiot. 

"Javi? You okay? You look pale-" 

"I'm okay, I just need a moment. I'll go outside, okay?" 

"Sure." 

Gabby's smile was worried and Javi felt a little bit guilty, but he really needed to get away. 

It was cold outside, and he took a deep breath, wincing. Seriously, what the hell-

"Dude, you alright? You look like shit." 

Javi looked up and saw a girl with short blonde hair, looking at him with mild interest. 

"Yeah." he nodded, looking at a cigarette in her hand "Could I maybe have one?" 

"Sure, you look like you need it." she laughed, handing him a pack and a lighter "Knock yourself out, and think through whatever is going on." 

"Thanks." he muttered, inhaling deeply. He didn't smoke regularly, but he was suddenly feeling like it, Matteo would probably yell at him later. 

"Uh, Javi?" 

Javi almost jumped when he heard his name spoken by an unfamiliar voice, and when he turned around he saw a familiar silhouette. 

"Yeah, that's me." he laughed nervously "Shoma, right?" 

"Yes." Shoma nodded "I, uh, saw you, and I want to talk to you?" 

"Sure?" Javi blinked, confused, and Shoma sighed, clearly a bit embarrassed. 

"So, I'm going out with Yuzu lately and I, hmm… you guys are friends, right? So I wanted to ask-" he licked his lips nervously "- I don't really know what he likes the most? And I want to invite him somewhere nice, but I'm not sure what he enjoys the most?" 

Javi felt like yelling and running away, but Shoma was looking at him expectantly, and Javi swallowed hard before bringing the cigarette to his lips. 

"He likes flowers." he said, not really thinking "Also seafood and semi- dry wine, white, and he hates bell pepper and olives. Oh, and he loves romance movies, the older the better, he has a thing for Audrey Hepburn. Treat him right, okay?" he added almost hysterically before throwing the cigarette to the ground and stomping on it, and then turning to walk inside the club when he hid in the darkest corner, praying that he wouldn't see Yuzuru and Shoma again.

* * *

"Oh." Yuzuru blinked when they stopped in front of a restaurant "Here?" 

"Yeah." Shoma smiled "They have really good seafood dishes." 

"My favorite." Yuzuru admitted and Shoma's smile grew even wider. 

It was pretty nice, Yuzuru thought, as a handsome waiter led them to a table. Him and Shoma were going out for the past three weeks and honestly, that finally felt like a date more in Yuzuru’s style. He wasn't too much into burgers and clubbing, or some weird ass fantasy movies. He had been thinking about taking a lead and suggesting something else, but now he was pleasantly surprised. 

"Here you go." the waiter said, handing them menus "I will be right back."

The moment Yuzuru opened his menu it started raining, big drops hitting the pavement right behind the big windows. Yuzuru skimmed through the pages and suppressed a sigh when he saw lobster risotto on the page fourth, unwanted memories coming back to him. 

The thing was, Shoma was great. He was nice and kind, and good looking, and he was clearly trying. But they hadn't even kissed yet, and to be honest, Yuzuru didn't even know if he wanted to, because his heart was absolutely unmoved when it was coming to Shoma. At the same time, simple thought about Javi was making his blood pressure go crazy. 

Yuzuru slapped himself mentally for that thought, seriously, he was on a date with another guy, that was plain wrong. 

The smiley waiter was back, taking their orders, and Shoma smiled at him mysteriously. 

"So, you like it in here?" 

"It's lovely." Yuzuru said and Shoma nodded. 

"Right? So Javi was speaking the truth." he chuckled and Yuzuru froze. 

"What?" he asked and Yuzuru looked at him, clearly surprised by the weird tone of his voice. 

"Uhh, you remember how we went to a club last week? Well I saw him and I asked him where should I take you, and he said all those things about seafood and wine, and old movies." Shoma said carelessly and Yuzuru felt a scream raising in his throat, but he swallowed past it. 

"You didn't tell me he was there." he said slowly and Shoma shrugged. 

"He was with his friends or something. Beside that, he didn't look too good, and he was smoking-" 

Yuzuru kept on staring at him while his heart was beating so hard it was a bit difficult to breathe, his thoughts running around in hystery as he was connecting the facts. 

Oh. 

"I'm sorry." he wheeze, standing up abruptly "I'm sorry, I need to go." 

"Huh?" Shoma blinked slowly "Everything okay?" 

"Yeah, just, I really need to-" Yuzuru fumbled with words, feeling awkward and like a piece of shit "I don't think it can work out." he blurted out and Shoma narrowed his eyes, but then, surprisingly- he smiled. 

"That's fine." he said "I was suspecting that even that dinner wouldn't make you like me that way. You go, I'll text my friends to come over and eat your food."

That definitely wasn't reaction Yuzuru was expecting, but he took it without much thought, glad that they avoided making a scene. He rushed out of the restaurant, running for the nearest metro station, almost not noticing rain falling heavily on him. He had more important things to think about, and he had somewhere to be. 

* * *

Javi put on his sleeping t-shirt paced to the living room. It was pretty early, a few minutes after 7pm, but he was feeling a bit tired. Also, the weather was awful, rainy and windy, and it was making him feel a bit sleepy. He sat down on the sofa, staring at the remote control and considering reaching for it, when someone banged to his door rather loudly, making Effie flinch. 

"What the heck." Javi muttered "I'm coming, I'm coming." he yelled when the banging repeated "I-" 

Words died on his lips when he opened the door and saw Yuzuru, rain- soaked and trembling, hair plastered to his face, eyes wide.

"Oh my God, what happened?" Javi asked, worried, letting him in "Are you okay, do you- oh." he squeaked, because Yuzuru was suddenly right in front of him, so close their noses were almost touching. 

"What-" 

Javi couldn’t finish, because suddenly there were cold lips on his, and trembling fingers digging into his shoulders, and he let out a muffled, shocked gasp, and he was feeling like paralyzed, not able to react. He didn't even have time to react, because after a few seconds Yuzuru was pulling away, his hands coming to cup Javi's face. 

"I've been trying to be subtle, you know." he hissed against Javi's lips "But it apparently wasn't working, so listen carefully, because I'm only going to say it once. I like you, Javier Fernández, you dense idiot, hell, I'm probably halfway in love with you, but if you don't-" 

That time it was Javi who kissed him, his body reacting on its own. He wrapped one arm around Yuzuru's waist, pulling him closer and kissing him hard. Yuzuru reacted immediately, kissing him back, and Javi didn't even think, just allowed himself to get lost in an amazing feeling of Yuzuru's mouth on his. If it depended from him it would last forever, but suddenly his dizzy mind realized that Yuzuru's clothes were soaking wet and that he was trembling. 

"You need a hot shower." he whispered when they pulled away to catch a breath "And dry clothes." 

"I-" Yuzuru muttered, his cheeks turning a bit pink "I don't have my keys. I left my jacket in a restaurant."

"Oh." Javi frowned, but decided not to ask "Uh, I can bring you something. You go and shower, you can use the yellow towel, it's fresh, I will fetch you some clothes."

"Yeah. Yeah, okay." Yuzuru nodded, blinking rapidly before slowly walking to the bathroom. 

Javi stood there for a moment, rooted to the spot, before snapping out of it and going to search his closet. He picked the cleanest and softest clothes he could find and dropped them by the bathroom door before going to the kitchen and preparing two cups of tea and talking them to the living room. He was feeling both giddy and confused, because… well, Yuzuru had kissed him and, wait, what was that thing about being in love? 

The bathroom door clicked loudly and Javi flinched, looking up at Yuzuru who was approaching him with a soft smile, looking a bit less confident than before. 

"Hi." he said shyly, sitting on the other end of the sofa "Uhh, I-" he stopped abruptly, biting his lower lip, and that kicked Javi back into action. 

"Here, I made you some tea." he said, sliding one cup in Yuzuru’s direction. 

"Thanks." Yuzuru said gratefully, taking a sip. 

"So…" Javi hesitated "A restaurant?" 

Yuzuru sighed deeply, his blush coming back with full force. 

"I went for a dinner with Shoma and he… He told me you two talked."

"Oh." Javi scratched the back of his neck, mildly embarrassed "Well, yeah? And what-" 

"And then I realized… I hoped… You know me, Javi, and I just… I just thought that maybe you liked me, in the end, despite ignoring all my flirting…" 

Javi groaned quietly, rubbing his face with embarrassment. 

"I only realized I like you when I saw you with Shoma." he admitted "I was just-" 

"You like me?" Yuzuru asked, gaping, and Javi smiled at him sheepishly, feeling warm and bold. 

"Actually, I think I might be halfway in love with you too." 

Yuzuru smiled at that, wide and sweet, and when a moment later he was sitting in Javi's lap and kissing him, Javi thought that maybe being an idiot paid off, in the end. 

Javi was woken up by something warm nuzzling against his neck, and he internally cursed Effie for being a pest again. But then he realized that there was also an arm thrown across his chest, and a leg wrapped around his waist. He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was a mop of dark hair on a pillow right next to him, and his heart fluttered. 

"Hi." he whispered and Yuzuru whined quietly, nuzzling even closer "You hungry?" 

"Nooo." Yuzuru mumbled “I have a feeling it’s a dream, I don’t want to wake up.”

Javi’s heart clenched a little as he leaned to press his lips to Yuzuru’s forehead, feeling warm and giddy. 

“It’s very real.” he muttered “But also, I’m really hungry, so…” he made and attempt to move, but Yuzuru clinged to him, not letting him move, and Javi chuckled.

“Is this how our morning are going to look like?” he asked and that clearly woke Yuzuru up, because he opened his eyes and raised his head, his gaze still blurry, expression both serious and happy, and he was clearly lost for words. So Javi just smiled, sliding his hand through Yuzuru’s hair and resting it on his nape, and everything felt so warm and soft, as if it was natural for them to be like that.

“I’m going to make you breakfast.” Javi decided “For all those dinners I didn’t know were dates.”

Yuzuru snorted at that, pushing a little against Javi’s touch and closing his eyes, letting out a deep, content sigh.

“Fine.” he decided, sending Javi a playful grin “I really worked hard, you know.”

Luckily, Javi’s fridge was fully stored with everything he needed to prepare a nice breakfast. It was pretty difficult, though, since Yuzuru was basically glued to his back and leaving small, soft kisses on his neck and shoulders. Javi knew that they should probably talk in more detail about what was going on, feelings and all that stuff, but for now he didn’t want to ruin that perfectly nice morning. 

Despite of Yuzuru’s attempts to distract him, the breakfast turned out pretty good, and Javi was really happy with the satisfied look on Yuzuru’s face, but before he could do something, there was a soft knocking to his front door.

“Hmm.” he frowned, standing up slowly “I wonder who could that be?”

One minute later he had to bite back a screech when he saw Shoma on his doorstep, with some tall guy standing a few steps away, both wearing suspiciously easy smiles.

“Hi. Is Yuzu here?” Shoma asked and Javi swallowed nervously, but then he heard quick footsteps and a moment later Yuzuru was by his side, tense and awkward. 

“Uh, hi Shoma, I-”

“I brought you your jacket!” Shoma smiled broadly, handing it to very confused Yuzuru “You left it yesterday, and I think your keys are inside?”

“Yeah. Umm, thank you-”

“Not a problem.” Shoma smiled and then waved “I’ll see you in the office when I see you!” he exclaimed brightly and then walked away, followed closely by that strange tall guy. 

Javi closed the door slowly, confused beyond belief, and looked at Yuzuru, who was wearing the weirdest of expressions, clutching his jacket in his fist. 

“I’m pretty sure that was a waiter from yesterday.” Yuzuru muttered and Javi blinked rapidly, shifting awkwardly. 

“Well at least you, uhh, didn’t break his heart, am I right?”

Yuzuru stared at him for a moment, something flashing in his expression, and then he threw his jacket away and made his way to Javi, wrapping his arms around him.

“Are you going to break mine?” he asked, his gaze and expression flirty, and Javi knew that everything was okay.

“Well I’m not planning to.” he hummed, wrapping his arms around Yuzuru’s waist “I feel like I should ask you that.”

“I spent ages on trying to get you like me.” Yuzuru giggled, moving even closer and tipping his head “I’m not going to blow it.”

Well, Javi wasn’t going to blow it up either. That for sure. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, don't hesitate to tell me what you think!


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